Monochronism and Polychronism

There are two tendencies in perceptions of time. They apply to culture on many different levels.

Monochronism is the Franklin-Covey-DayRunner-PalmPilot perception of time as a commodity. You can use, save, spend, waste, find, keep track of, and run out of time. This is a task-oriented way of living. If you run into a friend on the street, but you're late for something, you apologize for having to run, and they understand and wish you well. It 's efficient for getting things done, and it dominates most parts of the US and other industrialized countries.

Polychronism is the perception of time as merely a context in which we live. You don't keep track of hours and minutes - you take life as it comes. This is a relationship-oriented way of living. If you run into a friend on the street, you stop and ask how their family is and listen as they tell you all about it - even if you have something pending. It's efficient for building community, personal, and social relationships, and it dominates many rural and unindustrialized areas.

Most people lie somewhere between the two extremes, but tend to lean one way or the other. Let's see if you recognize it. Can you think of a person you know who is late for everything because they were talking to their mother/cousin/friend/interesting stranger or got completely caught up in a project? This can be very frustrating for an m-time person because it interrupts or sets back their plans. However, if you get to talking to this person, the conversation takes all sorts of delightful turns, and is never truncated by a "tight schedule." You feel special when you talk to this person, because their attention is on you the whole time. This is a p-time person.

Now, can you think of a person you know who is hard to talk to because they're always looking at their watch, and you can't tell if they're listening because their mind seems to be on whatever is next on the schedule? This, to a p-time person, is offensive because they feel neglected and unimportant. However, this person is punctual and really gets things done. They pack a lot into their day and feel great when the last item is checked off the list on time. The Super-man/woman you're thinking of is an m-time person.

There can be some serious misunderstandings between an m-time person and a p-time person. For example, let's say that an m-time woman and a p-time man go on a date. Mr. P shows up late for the date and Ms. M thinks, "I must not be very important to him. How inconsiderate to waste my time by showing up late." Then later into the date they're in the middle of a great conversation, but she realizes she has other plans to attend to, so she wraps things up with a quick apology and leaves. Mr. P thinks, "I must not be very important to her. How inconsiderate to put other plans in priority over what we had already started." They are both likely wrong in their assumptions, but they read the other person's intentions falsely because of their different perceptions of time.

I'm from the suburbs of the US, where life is relatively m-time. It was a bit of an adjustment for me when I was in Ecuador, where if you miss a bus to a meeting, it's OK... because there's another one coming sometime soon, and if you arrive at the prescribed "time," you'll have to wait for several people, anyway. After a while I really began to love the laid-back p-time aspect of the culture. Understanding the difference has helped prevent frustration in many of my relationships. If only I could understand the cultural perception that makes people put the toilet paper roll on the dispenser backwards!...